Twitter for Small Businesses

I decided to watch Twitter for Small Businesses because I myself as an individual not a business am new to the Twitter World. I am still learning and want to learn more about Twitter because it is such an important tool to know how to use in the social media world. The webinar is actually very interesting and useful. I liked how it was two woman casually and comfortably talking to one another. It was very laid back and packed with facts and tips. The woman being interviewed is Erica Ayott Social Media Manager for Constant Contact. The link to watch the Twitter for Small Businesses can be found here.
Three key points that caught my attention was that they referred to Twitter as a cocktail party. I really liked that analogy. By this they mean that you can grow your Twitter page by treating it like a cocktail party. You
run into people you expect and others you don't. You hear snippets of conversations and can jump into the conversation if desired. Twitter allows the same things. You can follow people you know well or people you don't know so well. You read tweets and some may catch your eye and spark a desire to connect with that person. You also can meet people on Twitter like you would at a party and end up becoming business connections which is great! I really enjoyed the comparison and it makes a lot of sense comparing the two.
The next thing I learned is that when composing a tweet on Twitter for a Business you should try to make the tweet no longer than 120 characters even though you are allowed 160. This will then guarantee that none of your tweet will be edited or rewritten if re-tweeted  You are assured that your original tweet will be the one other people see. I would not have even thought of this, so I am so glad that they mentioned that even though it is common sense.
Lastly, I learned the best way to follow people and grow your network. The first step is to just use Twitter as a listening tool and looking for interests that pertain to you. Just kind of lay back and browse and scope out the scene. You can then, once finding people that interest and you can  benefit from, you can check out their followers and find even more people to connect with. The best way to grow is just to simply discover who you want to follow, engage with them, and then hope to get them to follow you. The more you engage and follow, the more followers you will receive and the more your business will grow!
After watching this I was actually impacted. I am a Twitter newbie. I feel like an old person trying to figure out Facebook. Honestly though, I did not realize how many things I was doing wrong and I am not a business on Twitter I am just simply me, a human. I do not engage at all, which is probably why I only have 46 followers over the past few months. I feel like a creep shouting out to people, but I guess it is not that weird since the website is made for social engaging and common interests. I also did not know that there are certain hashtags that are better than others, I just put whatever comes to my mind. I should do more research as to where my tweet is going when I do that. All in all, I think now that it is an awesome business tool. I used to think that Twitter would be the worst way to connect with people virtually but now my mind has changed. I think I need to start using my own personal Twitter more and experiment with it. Perhaps I will end up making a Twitter for my Social Media project after all! It absolutely cannot hurt!